The present invention relates to aerosol can content testing, and more particularly relates to an automated system for performing aerosol can content testing.
As is well known to those in the pharmaceutical industry involved in the selective testing of aerosol can contents required by regulations imposed by various government agencies (e.g., FDA), the drug product content testing of aerosol cans is currently performed manually by chilling the aerosol can and the contents thereof in a dry ice bath. After the contents of the aerosol can has been sufficiently chilled to reduce internal pressure, the aerosol can is then opened by a suitable cutting device such as a specialized electric can opener. The aerosol can is then placed into a glass flask and the propellant therein is allowed to evaporate from the open can. After the propellant has evaporated, the active drug is extracted utilizing a suitable solvent, such as methanol. Liquid handling is then performed on the extraction in order to ready the final sample to be analyzed by UV or HPLC, depending on the drug product. The UV or HPLC testing will determine the amount of drug content in the aerosol can being tested by a technician.
Although the manual testing currently being utilized is known to be effective, the testing requires an inordinate amount of time by a trained technician and that the test be performed at a temperature below the xe2x80x9cboilingxe2x80x9d point of the propellant. Thus, there is a long-felt need for an automated aerosol can content testing apparatus and method that can test aerosol cans for drug content in an accurate and time efficient manner and that avoids the necessity to use dry ice.
In accordance with the present invention, applicants provide an automated aerosol can content analyzer workstation to determine the drug content of a selected aerosol can. The aerosol can content analyzer workstation includes an extraction mechanism comprising an extraction chamber for receiving an aerosol can therein. A piercing element is positioned within the extraction chamber for piercing the aerosol can when the aerosol can is at ambient temperature.
In use, the present invention provides a method for analyzing the drug content of an aerosol can that includes placing the aerosol can in an extraction chamber wherein the extraction chamber is at ambient temperature. The method next provides for rupturing the aerosol can so as to allow the pressurized contents of the aerosol can to expel into the extraction chamber and then analyzing the contents of the aerosol can to determine the drug content.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an aerosol can content analyzer workstation for use in determining the drug content of selected aerosol cans in a pharmaceutical testing procedure.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an procedure to replace the manual procedure presently used by pharmaceutical manufacturers for testing the aerosol can content so as to significantly expedite the testing procedure and to provide for more reliable testing results than the presently known manual aerosol can content testing procedure.
Some of the objects of the invention having been stated hereinabove, other objects will become evident as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings described below.